I am a Professor of Hispanic linguistics in the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I am also a faculty affiliate in the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and in the Social Justice Initiative. I am also the founding ​​director of the Language in Context Research Group. 

Since 2009 I've served as Executive Editor of the journal Spanish in Context.

 

Most broadly, I am interested in the promotion of minority languages and multilingualism, particularly via elementary schooling. My work focuses on Spanish in the United States, including factors that influence intergenerational language transmission, connections between language and identity, and heritage language education. Some of my recent research topics include:

* Language development in a dual immersion school
* Spanish use in Chicago quinceañera celebrations
* The use of “Spanglish” in commercially published greeting cards
* Comparisons between Mexican and Puerto Rican Spanish in Chicago
* The language and identity of mixed “MexiRican” individuals
* Teaching heritage languages, particularly Spanish in the U.S.

MexiRican language and identity

Tuesday, March 21st 2017

My newest book explores issues of language and identity among "MexiRican" individuals. 

On this page, you can see a video about a talk I delivered at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Latino Cultural Center on March 8, 2017, as well as a few other things related to this project.

Interview at SUNY Stony Brook, April 2016

Sunday, February 12th 2017

A very nice interview by the Center for Multilingual and Intercultural Education at the State University of New York at Stony Brook about my research on dual language education, on "MexiRicans" and on why there should be separate instruction for heritage Spanish speakers. Thanks for the invitation to come and speak with you and also learn about what you're doing!